Complex Fox

Recently, we've been putting on a night in FUEL café, Manchester, entitled Quantum Nonsense. Bands, DJs, Craft goods: it's great! (quite findable on Facebook) Very relaxed atmosphere, unless you're organising it ("I need an XLR lead, STAT!!") Thankfully, it has given me an excuse to procrastinate and ignore the rest of my life in exchange for trawling the internet for music. It's great! Although...wow, there's a lot of mediocre new music, isn't there?

I've tried the tried & tested formula of going on Hypemachine, downloading 50 songs based on crowd recommendations, and slowly but surely losing the will to live. That said, I do now have several thousand so-so Diplo & Justice remixes taking up my hard drive space like a guest who won't leave. Every cloud.

Apparently, every music blog's favourite song of last year was either Two Weeks by Grizzly Bear (fair enough, although does no-one think Veckatimest blends into one?) or Lisztomania by Phoenix (here!), which I can't understand. Not being a hipster last year I guess I missed the hype. It is growing on me, but there's a weird chorus effect on his voice that makes me feel a bit ill, like eating too many praline chocolates. You end up wanting to have a nice lie down & eat (listen to) something more substantial. Tinny ipod speakers don't really do these tracks any justice. It's like a bee playing a bugle in your ear at times, but BBC Radio 7 is on and mustn't be interrupted!

Under pain of torture... involving more Radio 7 plays.

---

Music! First up, a collaboration between The Shin's James Mercer and Dangermouse. Broken Bells are refreshing in that you know exactly what you're going to hear. It's only ever going to sound like The Shins with Dangermouse adding Moog sounds and different beat to the proceedings. Of course, this could easily go wrong, or worse entirely forgettable, like Dangermouse's Beck album Modern Guilt, which, suitably, I can't remind any of the songs from. Meh, it's in a pile of CDs labelled "Linger" somewhere....

Broken Bells - The High Road

Next, Son of Dave. Now, ideally I was after this particular live version which made me buy my Loop Station. Around a minute in, watch as The Coral stand around, bemused and suicidal, clearly dreading having to follow this one guy. (YouTube - Hellhound). Anyway, here's the album version, which naturally loses some of that live magic, but is still fantastic.

Son of Dave - Hellhound

Keeping up that frontiersman vibe, here's Revolver with Get Around Town. Sounds a bit like The Coral (if they had structure), The National (if he didn't mumble and had a sense of humour) and (insert band here). I can't put my finger on it, but it's great! The strings near the end sell it to me.

Revolver - Get Around Town

Next, Field Music add some well earned synthesisers to their tried and tested formula of falsetto spangle indierock, with some electro-funk for good measure in Let's Write a Book. Sounds amazing loud and bassy. I recently bought 3 Field Music albums from Fopp (£3 each!) , and I feel like I've let myself down by not listening to them more. I haven't quite gotten to that stage of listening to the albums where I can differentiate between more than 2 or 3 tracks. I bet they are good, but Field Music don't like easy melodies. They just like loads and loads of them in every song. A potential goldmine if I ever get the time.

Field Music - Let's Write a Book

"Six says everything will be Okayayay, Yippeekayay!" A late addition to the list, just cropped up on shuffle; Guggenheim Grotto with One For Sorrow. Haven't heard it for years, but a solid folk song about magpies that somehow manages to get you dancing. So? Get dancing!

Guggenheim Grotto - One For Sorrow

Finally, possibly the happiest song I've heard in ages, It Doesn't Have To Be Beautiful by Slow Club Not for every mood, but it's brilliant for a sunday. It sounds cross between a happy Bright Eyes without his annoying vocal tics and his endlessly dull political tendencies, and a more upbeat & modern She & Him. You should love it, especially when the title of the song rears it's head. Love the melody.

Slow Club - It Doesn't Have To Be Beautiful

Enjoy the weekend! C'mon sun, I know you're not really monochrome!

Thrum

Thank god! We have the flat for 2 extra months. I really didn't want to be looking for a house twice in 2 months, let alone 2 houses in 2 separate cities separated by 2 countries! Sweatchops! So, I now only have regular panic to look forward to. Money. Money... & Money. If you have some, can I?

Seeing as I finally broke the... duck (is that the phrase? I don't want to accidentally out myself. Or do I...) with playlists, I feel I can do the same with this dastardly blog. Happily, making about 4 CDs of playlists, which involved scouring 98 downloads and several ill advised purchases, I actually now have enough new music to keep me occupied.

So! Here's a selection of 5. Play it as it lays, or mix it up. I probably should've thought of an order, but easy does it. Don't wanna break any bones.

---

1. St. Vincent - Marrow

From the new album Actor, this is my new favourite song, bar none. I can't recommend it enough. The chunky metalled-up-bassoon-funk of the chorus sold me. According to wikipedia, St Vincent, of Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens fame, (which does her no justice whatsoever), has toured with The National, Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird, Jolie Holland, Midlake, Xiu Xiu, Death Cab for Cutie and Grizzly Bear, which I think sums up her appeal quite nicely!

I think it's a song about being stuck in a marrow, with Godzilla Djing (you'll understand when you listen).

2. Johnny Flynn - Kentucky Pill

I think I've pinned it down. A good bassline, a trumpet, a mandolin or banjo, and some acoustic business is pretty much what I'm after. Oh, and a lovely melody. This song has it all, and it's perfect for summer (instant happy). Plus, I'm pretty sure he references Time Bandits.

3. Bishop Allen - I Get Along

I was torn between this and another one by the same artist, but I'll save it for a rainy day. Bishop Allen released 12 EPs in 2006, one every month, and it's all great! They have that easy-listening thing that Cake have in spades. Short and sharp, gets along nicely.

4. Suckers - Black Sheep

This would sound amazing in a club. The drums, the epic vocals, then the mental chorus. Sounds extraordinarily fun to play. The singer gets a bit hyperactive-Caleb Followill at the second chorus, but he's clearly just as excited as you would be jumping up and down singing to this.

5.Neon Indian - Sleep Paralysist

This is a nice follow-up to Quantazelle - Braking (Hushed), which was the opening theme to the robot olympics. This one is more the training montage part, getting through the middle heats of the tournament. Not the grand finale, just the part before it all goes wrong (only to come together at the end! Gold!). *tear* those beautiful robots.

---

Right, I think I'll go back on what I said. I don't have enough good music. I must reduce my haul into a puree, and then add some more. I'd warmly welcome some suggestions.

Cha-La, Head Cha-La & Japanese Glory!

Take that, Tazo from the distant Barcelona past! How dare you intrude in my future?!

Yes! How can you deny it? Cha-La, Head Cha-La! Fly away! To think, the Japanese considered this their most precious treasure for many a year? Well, I see the appeal. God bless Dragonball Z. I spent my second year at University avoiding lectures and watching endless episodes of this classic anime, being endlessly frustrated/overjoyed by the every-second-episode-is-poorly-drawn nature of its glory. Here's some incidental and ending music!

Hironobu Kageyama - Cha-La Head-Cha-La

Hironobu Kageyama - Battle with an Ultra Saiyan

Moving on to...Cowboy Beebop! I just love how this song builds and builds, although I do feel I need several Long Island Iced Teas to properly solve this clearly, clearly mysterious murder... I also love the japanese rapping at the end of it. He sounds very sincere.

The Seatbelts - Time to know (Be waltz).mp3

I don't know how I ended up this particular piece of brilliance, but I did, so there. Take it please.

The Budos Band - Ride or Die

Right, Funk! Average White Band, Pick Up The Pieces, makes kit's toes hop. Hop til they fall off. Clean it up, Kit, clean it up!

Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces

Ah, Maceo Parker. Pass the Peas? You What? Ok. He sounds quite violent. Here's Kit: "PASS ME THOSE PEAS! ok now the violent is out of the way. You cannot argue with the fantastic musicianship in this track. It just feels like jam session and that is the beauty. Everyone know their craft so well it just blends together perfectly." Everyone's funking, they don't know how. Fact. Just make their funk the pea funk, please? Oh, and here's some more that're just as great, but I'm too (drunk) tired to write about.

Maceo Parker - Pass the Peas

Maceo Parker - Quick Step

Maceo Parker - Chicken

Here's a track from the 1973 album Too Hot To Stop by the Bar Kays, as heard on the Superbad soundtrack, and more recently edited into about 63 different advertisements. Ruddy good though.

The Bar-Kays - Too Hot To Stop

And to finish, a wonder from the Modern Lovers. I became a little obsessed with the song a few years back, and wrote a song around it. As Rick will attest, it went rather well! This is The Sweeping Wind (Kwa Ti Feng).

The Modern Lovers - The Sweeping Wind (Kwa Ti Feng)

B-Sides, Old Folks & Forgotten Bits

My life is a series of Angel episodes interspersed with tea and slices of ham from the fridge. Good stuff.

The last two months have been exhaustingly distracting from this blog, and I've felt guilty for lack of upkeep/upload. New job, applying for a MSc, and generally having a social life have all added to my beloved procrastinate (if it was a substance. Very wrong if you visualise it). But what else is a weekend for than lounging about in your Jazzpants (with a capital 'Jazz'!...is that a euphemism?), downing tea and compiling lists?

No real theme in this here post, aside from B-Sides that are better than the album tracks, old musicians releasing songs that pizazzle all over the competition, and some tracks that I had forgotten were so great. Why does iTunes randomly lose your music? Not all of it, just an album or five by an artist. Thank you trusty external hard-drive. My one, my only Funkbunker.

---

B-Sides & Better Versions

Weezer - Private Message

Before they released Maladroit in 2002, Weezer decided to post all their demos online for the fans to judge and enjoy. Naturally, loads didn't make it. This was foretold by Jesus as the rule of A-Few-Alright-But-Mostly-Shite, but it was fascinating to hear the evolution of a song, draft to draft. Private Message was one of those songs that was just brilliant from draft one, but was then ruined by a second version that felt kinda bloated. This version shows how good a songwriter Rivers Cuomo is when he's writing pop and not krunking. No frills, plenty of melody. Lovely.

The Futureheads - First Day

The second draft curse happened with First Day too . This was the version that got The Futureheads noticed, but obviously they had to rerecord it for the album. Cue extra guitars and a less scrappy whole that should've worked better than it did. As it is, ruddy great song, and this is the definitive version. I love the way it gets faster and faster, like you're being asked to do too many things at once ... by Geordies. A frightening thought, but a great song.

Beck - MTV Makes Me Wanna Smoke Crack

Finally, a song that tells it like it is! Kinda. This was the B-Side to Loser, Beck's first big hit that threatened to end his career there and then. My favourite line has got be "Bust out the Biscuits!". Rock n' Roll! I wish Beck did more Lounge Bar crooning. There's clearly a market for it (me).

The Shins - The Gloating Sun

The Shins. Can they do wrong? Well, yes, but not here. I love the fact that this song is a B-Side. I remember hearing from Radiohead (I think) that they would put a bit more effort into their B-Sides because they didn't have the pressure of it being a single, or fitting in with the rest of an album. Of course, this song just sounds like the Shins do normally, but it's an interesting thought. Anywho, the B-Side is dying/dead now, unless legal downloads have the A & B sides strapped together in a digital 3 legged race. I think I'd like that. Not that I buy singles anymore. Albums all the way! If an album's shit, you just choose better next time. A self-punishing way to drive up the quality of your music collection. Here's to that!

---

Old Folks

Paul Simon - Father & Daughter

This is taken from Paul Simon's 2006 album Surprise, and I think...I THINK it's about his daughter. Unless 'daughter' is code for 'sandwich'. I think I'm hungry. Got pastrami in the fridge that's begging to be eaten. *wanders to the fridge* That was delicious! Back to business. There's something very comforting about Paul Simon's singing. I bet he just talks like that anyway.

David Byrne - Life Is Long

We went to see (& meet) David Byrne last year, and every song played was acted out by dancers (of sorts). In Life is Long, all the dancers and Mr Byrne used office chairs to ... sorta rotate in sync. It's better than it sounds, I swear! Watch. Anyways, he brought us beer, and it's a catchy, catchy song.

Tom Waits - Goin Out West

Tom Waits out metals metal with this heavy monstrosity (in a good way). Sounds like a murderer stomping across the Wild West talking about his past kills. Yay! I think he's singing in a meat locker. Sounds about right for Mr Waits.

---

New & Improved!

Animal Collective - My Girls

My Girls has probably been played to death in all those Hip & Happenin' Hovels in...Hoxton (? I suppose it is full of twats). But it's a great song! The synths accompanying it, while great, aren't what make the song brilliant. Then what? The fact that it sounds like a sea shanty, that's what! I wonder if it's an old song, made up in Kraftwerk's lipstick? Wonderfully uplifting.

Yeasayer - 2080

Another epically ethereal sounding belter of a tune. I recently made the mistake of buying the newest Yeasayer album basing it purely on a song that wasn't even on it (*cough cough* this one *cough*). Whoops, not a great purchase. Great artwork, dodgy electronica and a few good songs does not a good album make. Damn you Piccadilly Records ... However! 2080 is superb. Plenty of reverb, band members shouting in unison and guitars! Oh, how I love guitars. This song must've been recorded in a foggy Otherworld full of gently purring fridges.

Midlake - Fortune

From the newest album The Courage of Others, this shows Midlake's 70s English folk-rock obsession emerge in one of the highlights of the album. Frustratingly, and perhaps leniently, it ends when it could go on. It should rightfully be two minutes longer! But that's only because the album is a grower, and it just hasn't grown on me yet. So I'm hanging on to the happiness! Like a desperate folk monkey.

End!

Once, Twice, Thrice

In the spirit of giving, where I am currently situated (his almighty stomach is m'jassive!), I hereby offer a trio of playlists. They're probably the one and the same, but I'm too close to them to tell. Or care.

Right, here we go. 3 playlists, and 30 mp3s to boot! Don't say I never get you anything. Down from 89 songs to 10, and then up to 30 again. I've attempted to keep it under 10 songs each. Can you imagine the strain I've put myself through?! I'm fairly sure my eye-twitch is from this.

---

This first one is all about feeling quiet & attentive. I've tried to make it so that every track is whisperingly sinister. For some of the songs, I can't shake the feeling that they're singing about having killed someone, or that they're gonna kill you. In others, the melodies and chords invoke a feeling that I can't distinguish from nostalgia (mainly from first year at Uni, but it was 5 years ago, and those were indeed some very happy times). There's some of my all time favourite songs on these playlists. I suggest only playing these songs together. Everyone has lists for certain moods right? Next time you're on your own, sunk (emotionally) low on a sofa with your headphones on, perusing the interweb, try it. It ends on a high, so you're ready for the next playlist.

1. Jon Brion - Here We Go
2. Madeleine Peyroux - Between the Bars
3. Sufjan Stevens - The Lord God Bird
4. Iron & Wine - Naked As We Came
5. Elliott Smith - Needle in the Hay
6. New Buffalo - I've Got You and You've Got Me.mp3
7. Liz Durrett - The Mezzanine
8. Jim White - Bluebird
9. Low - Murderer
10. Frou Frou - Let Go

So, can't stray too far, as it must link somehow! Mood wise, anyway. This playlist is a more well-rounded person, with you downloading...the limbs? For shame! Hackensack is a prime example of a quality song, with a followable story, a great melody, and it's short & sweet. Welcome, but you'll want it to carry on, like the way listening to Everlong makes you curse when it ends. Damn you, restrained songwriters!

1. Jon Brion - Knock Yourself Out
2. Fountains of Wayne - Hackensack
3. Ian Love - The Only Night
4. Tunng - Bullets
5. St. Vincent - Now. Now.
6. Beirut - Elephant Gun
7. Tim Fite - Away From The Snakes
8. The Delays - Long Time Coming
9. Soltero - I'll Be A Writer
10. Hawksley Workman - Stop Joking Around

Next! Upbeat! Even better, upbeat with wedge of emotionally satisfying chord changes and shouty bits! I get a bit giddy from some of these songs. Once again, I'm doing that associating thing but, statistically speaking, that's where at least 40% of a songs enjoyment comes from. Fact. Plenty of great songs, great lyrics, and they get much, much better with repeat listenings. That sounds obvious, but how often does a song, no matter how optimistically you approach it, refuse to make its case? Be damned, you shit! Shit off! Okay, I've not made as much effort with this one, but it definitely suits the mood, and the songs are great. It's mainly...louder, with added up. Enjoy.

1. New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
2. Pavement - Stereo
3. The Rapture - Whoo! Alright-Yeah... Uh Huh
4. Spoon - The Way We Get By
5. Field Music - You Can Decide
6. Bricolage - Footsteps
7. Josh Ottum - Who Left The Lights On
8. Son of Dave - Life is So Easy Now
9. The Little Ones - Cha Cha Cha
10. The Be Good Tanyas - The Littlest Birds

Fulllllll Stop.

Laser Fusion and Glorious Electronica

Finally, I may soon have a means of powering that killbot I constructed mid-nineties, the damn power-hungry monstrosity.

It was reported this week that an obstacle in the process of sustainable nuclear fusion using lasers was overcome! Huzzah! I know, it was on everyone's minds. "Plasma interruption" this, "I dearly hope it doesn't affect the hohlraum's ability to absorb the incident laser light!!" that. But fear not! All is well, and they reckon that they will finally be able to start ignition of a fusion reactor later this year! Essentially, the semi-sustainable power source of the sun, harnessed for potentially great/evil use. This may well be more exciting that the discovery of Dark Matter and the LHC programme, which is too slow burning for my liking. As a world renowned scientist, I demand more! Plus, lasers have auto-cool written all over them and the scientists that use them. It's the law.

Whilst this has been going on, I've been sat at a desk (for once), being endlessly pelted with chunks of confusion. My new job in IT support is more or less exactly like the IT crowd, albeit with more tea and jaffa cakes. And I love it! They literally think temps know nothing, so you spend 80% of your time being trained in varying databases, 10% answering calls where you tell them to ring elsewhere, and the final 10% is dedicated to the art of drinking delicious tea. Mmm, tea.


So, while I'm in a tech-like mood, here's a post dedicated to all things Electronica & my favourite dance music of the recent past. Ideally, I look for something bass heavy, choppy & electro-laden; The bit in Bonkers, where it all kicks off & you press the headphones in a bit more; The best parts of Daft Punk (before they got lazy); And then songs like Into The Void, below, which may not always fit the genre, but will always fit the playlist.

I've never really been into dance music outright, so I'd like to think I'm unbiased and therefore choosier in which tracks I play relentlessly. Nonsense. It most likely means I just don't like the majority (too repetitive and full of Cascada-esque bawling) and am usually unwilling to delve any deeper. But what I have found I do love, though I wouldn't play it all the time. Below are a few of my favourite tracks that shouldn't be too obvious but I assure you are great (if that holds any authority! Which it won't). I'm not including any Daft Punk, Fatboy Slim, Chemical Brothers, Prodigy or Justice (minus a remix or two), because that'd be lazy. Laaaazy. But the rest is good stuff.

---

Ghosthustler - Busy Busy Busy

I'll start with one that was a grower, but the louder I played it, and the more often I walked back from work, late at night, with bass-heavy headphones and a skip in my step, the more I loved it. It has great scooping bass, like the intro to the amazing Satisfaction remix by Daft Punk (which I'll add) when it kicks in and you feel the air vibrate by the speaker. Plus, It's always a bonus to have real instruments in a track, but chopped up. It adds depth and doesn't feel as cold to the ears.

Marumari - Birch Beer Forest

The album Pathscrubber totally immerses you in this robotic undergrowth. Hard to describe, but this song feels like Goldilocks' first venture into the woods, written in binary. And i'd included another, Marumari - Lyortoi, because it sounds bloody marvellous, even though it's essentially an intermission.

Quantazelle - Braking (Hushed)

Ah, 8-bit wonderment. It sounds like the theme for the robot Olympics. Think that how it was described on 3hive, and somehow 4 years later it's still the first thing I imagine.

Thieves Like Us - Drugs In My Body

Drugs In My Body sounds like it's been made in a bedroom somewhere at Uni, and is all the better for it. I kinda like how weak the vocals are. Just the weediest, neediest guy trying to impress a girl with all his drugs! All the better for the driving beat and looping guitars. Oh! And around 2 min 14 or so, the midi drums are superb. Like a Cadbury's advert.

SebastiAn - Head/Off

Don't be put off by the seemingly off kilter timings. Part of the fun is figuring out the rhythm! SebastiAn is well known for remixing Killing in the Name a few years ago, but he doesn't go all out on that one. At the 2 minute 30 secs mark, turn up your bass and general volume. On headphones, superb.

RJD2 - Ghostwriter

I don't know much (or anything at all) about RJD2, but the album Deadringer is amazing. So very easy to listen to, and effortlessly cool. Soundtracked many a lengthy Pro Evo session at Uni way back when.

George Sarah - Lament

Different mood, but still evokes that late night with a drink and numerous Cracked articles thing. Happy times. The strings make the song more than it would have been.

!!! - Must Be The Moon (Emperor Machine mix)

I'm (foolishly) betting on the fact that other people keep coming back to certain songs, even though they conk out at the halfway mark. This, by !!! (Chk Chk Chk) being one of them, sounds amazing all loud n' whatnot. Once again, real instruments are the key.

Nine Inch Nails - Into The Void

To finish with (for now, until I can properly search through my music, not just the one playlist), here's one of my favourite songs of all time. The build up, the range of instruments, the colliding layers and then the rolling pay-off. Bliss

Billions upon Billions

I'm sat watching BBC's The Great Rift, which is a new wildlife/geology programme, and I swear that they are just inventing animals. The Antelope in the mountains were clearly, clearly marked with white spray paint, with a little on the cheeks to complement its complexion. Lovely, yes, but there's definitely something going on. They just said that a tiny gopher-like creature was, in fact, a scaled down Elephant, but hairy. You what? Made up. "Down by the sugar bushes, where the chameleons stalk their prey...". Sugar bushes?! This is sounding like Jabberwocky now.

There's definitely not enough geology programmes on telly at the moment. Or ever. A programme that shows planetary change with clear explanations, a charismatic presenter and some not-dodgy-but-can-be-if-effective CGI. I recently 'acquired' the 1980 TV series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan, and it triggered a minor obsession with the universe and all its crazy physics. Carl Sagan is quite possibly the most intelligent man I've ever seen on television, and he's such an confident oddball. His delivery of every single syllable makes you pay attention and partly absorb everything he talks about. However, due to the nature of talking about the universe and its unknowable vastness, Cosmos induces a kind of laid back trippyness that makes you lose hours and hours. Also, Sagan was a well-documented advocate of getting stoned and stargazing, AND worked for NASA. This is exactly the sort of as-cool-as-a-taco-is-spicy TV personality we're lacking on the BBC. Carl Sagan could get every child in the UK to become a astrophysicist. Or a stoner.

The David Attenborough series of documentaries/landscape porn, such as Life and Planet Earth, are great, but aren't sciencey enough for my interest to be piqued. Yes, that tiger cub is cute, and it's plight is very much fraught with danger and mild peril, but I want to see inside it's DNA, and I want to see it now! *Cue rapid zoom to a sub-molecular level* Boom. But no time for that, the Earth is shifting! *Dolly zoom into the helpless cub's eyes as the ground crumbles away under it* Laaaavvvaaaa. Freeze frame as a detailed spectrography of the rocks appears, superimposed onto the surrounding volcanic of pit. And are tiger cubs fireproof? Percentages and betting ratios, stat! Not sure exactly how volcanically active this fictional part of India is, but I wouldn't need to make this up if they'd just give me the TV that I want!

Right, music theme... Ah! The best detective (eg. whilst doing some detecting)/chase music from film or TV. Ideally not a John Williams-esque orchestra score. Here's a few, but any suggestions are very welcome.

Yoko Kanno & The Seatbelts - Tank!

This is from Cowboy Beebop, an amazing anime movie based on a popular detective TV show. According to my good friend Rick, they commissioned a jazz and blues soundtrack specifically for the show, and the result is effortlessly cool. Okay, they probably put some effort in, jazz is complex. This is the best track on the album, coming on over the main titles. Really defines the film from there on in.

Brad Fiedel - Tech Noir: Alley Chase

Seminal work from the former Blackburn Rovers goalie turned Villan. Oh. That would've been amazing though, right? This is from The Terminator, and is amazing to do a puppet dance to (just wait til it kicks in around the 3 minute mark). Turn it up a bit louder though, it needs it. Also, it's a bit Final Fantasy VII, escape from Midgar! Ruuuuun.

Dengue Fever - Ethanopium

From the film Broken Flowers, this is pure sleuthing musak. Pass me another Sailor Jerry Mojito, I'm ready to invoice.

Right, the house is covered in thread from Deborah's handbag production line, I'm (not) off to hoover.

John Connor & the Time Travelling Throat Lozenge

We finally managed to put up our free Tree of Life poster from the Open University! It's a glorious map of every species (more or less), and we ordered it when the first episode of BBC's Life series appeared. 8 short weeks later, woo!

Just watched Terminator Salvation too. The actual terminators themselves looked amazing, far better than I was led to believe. Of course, anything Stan Winston (RIP) is instantly frightening and lifelike (yeah, even Pumpkinhead and Small Soldiers). The Arnie T-100 was way more believable than the interweb told me too, although he looked far too normal. 80s Arnie was Bulbous, misshapen and Conan like, but this guy (Roland Kickinger) was wax like.

However, the story lacked any sort of dramatic tension, John Connor wasn't given anything to do apart from sounding gruff, and I would definitely have preferred the horrendous original ending, where both Marcus and Connor died, and Connor's skin was put over Marcus' Endoskeleton to keep the myth alive. Yeah, it would have been sacrilege, but it would've given the franchise a fresh twist. And the music! Why get the rights for the Brad Fiedel score from the first two movies, then hire Danny Elfman to f**k it up?! It resulted in a bad mash-up that made think that maybe a jaunty pure Elfman score would've been just the ticket.

Of course, if they hadn't cancelled the TV series, we would've had an intelligent and thought-provoking Terminator for once. If you took out the explosions in the film, then the final episode of the TV series had twice as much plot and intrigue. And it didn't rely on Christian Bale gruffing it up. I swear to God, Bale hasn't had a decent role in ages. He does kinda play the same character over and over though, right? In the Machinist he was paranoid and huskily whispered a lot. He was practically non-existent in The Dark Knight (not a bad thing, but I do like a Batman centric story every so often), and huskily whispered a lot... 3:10 to Yuma was great, but I'm fairly sure he was doing the same thing again: A righteous man who huskily whispers and fires weapons.

Now, District 9! That was a pleasant surprise. Matched Avatar for Mobile Armoured Battlesuits (although his had an unsightly bulge), matched Half-Life and Portal for weapons, and had a lead who was, while admittedly a dick, still likeable. What an achievement. Can't wait for the next one, but I'd rather not encourage it. It ended too perfectly.

Here's some happy

Vampire Weekend - Taxi Cab

Clue To Kalo - Empty Save the Oxygen

Juana Molina - Quien

My, Outside is Murky

It's really quite grim outside. I live on the top floor in the middle of about 20 factories, and it feels like a Lowry painting. And I'm a bit skinny, so it fits perfectly.

Went to see Laura Veirs with Miss Deborah and Mr Iwan on Tuesday, as Iwan was interviewing her for a website...somewhere. She has a new album, a new baby on the way, and the songs are quietly confident and ruddy good. Quickly becoming an immensely listenable album. Iwan has a review of the album on his Small World Reviews page, so I won't go into it much. The song Sun is King caught my attention a few minutes ago, so I figured I'd share. It has a lovely drifting country vibe to it, and I'll probably be singing along in a few more listens.

Laura Veirs - Sun Is King

Continuing the low-key mood I'm in, here's one by Karl Blau. He's used to be the bassist for Laura Veirs, and just keeps churning out albums. I haven't been able to get into the latest one, Nature Got Away, but this one song stands out. It's a bit haphazard, but I genuinely believe he lives in the woods and talks to the animals.

Karl Blau - Mockingbird Diet

Next, to go a bit louder, ridiculously titled Manics track that harks back to...well, good Manics. Great guitars and lyrics that are absurdly brilliant, but are probably deadly serious. It's hard to tell.

Manic Street Preachers - Jackie Collins Existential Question Time

This next one is great for late night interweb browsing. I think it's the minimal effort that José Gonzalez puts into his vocals, combined with the Folktronica. Oh, I think that's all there is to the song. Still, great stuff.

The Books & José Gonzalez - Cello Song

And to finish, a slice of Amélie-esque, French market pondering wonderfulness from Swedish Detektivbyrån. Used it to put Deborah's head in Parisian mode in September, and by golly it worked!

Detektivbyrån - Dansbanan

Hope I get some sleep tonight...

Some 2009

I sorta forgot to find new music last year. I usually make a CD or 3 for Deborah, but struggled this year, through internet uselessness (5 gb limit?!? F**k off. There goes my US TV habit) and through not being in a house with 5 people anymore. It's the filtering process that's the best part. Downloading about 250 songs based on recommendations from blogs/friends/stuff you stumble upon, then being ruthless (in your own tiny way). Ideally, 20 songs worth, as a CD that's less than full isn't worth it. Well, that's what I tell myself. Clearly I'm not being 'ruthless' enough.

Anyway, here's a few songs from the small pile of data I've accumulated. It won't all be new, but it was new to me.

1. Midlake - Roscoe
Midlake - Young Bride

I got a bit hooked on this album around September, and may have since ruined it for myself through one too many listens. Whoops. Healthy time apart, I think. Brilliant Songs, these two. Pretty much all the album is of this quality, but these two I go back to. Roscoe has a great driving rhythm, and I'm always a sucker for harmonies and Amish imagery.

2. The National - So Far Around The Bend

I can't believe this wasn't even on an album! Such a great song. Uplifting, lots of instruments, doesn't last too long and has a lovely outro. What more could you ask for? Aside from another album.

3. Vitalic - Trahison

I love playing this song straight after the Blade Runner theme (end credit theme, whatever) by Vangelis. Sounds so 80s futuristic and a bit desolate. Of course, that's the imagery of Blade Runner, but it certainly carries on into Trahison. It just keeps building and building. I'd love to listen to it at the gym, whilst trying to stare down a T-100 who's hogging a treadmill. Try it! Link for Vangelis below.

Vangelis - Blade Runner (End titles)

4. Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - Old Panda Days

I love the backwards sounding synths, and the stereo production on the vocals. Reminds me of offloading tracks from my 4-track to the computer, and hearing the separate guitars in either ear, sometimes creating strange effects... anyway, I really like this song. It doesn't take anytime to get to know, you can forget about it for a while, and come back and fit it into any mix. Well, not any mix, but you get the idea. Sounds like certain friends.

5. Andrew Bird - Heretics

I went to see Andrew Bird last year with The Baxtertron (patent pending), and although I only knew about 4 songs, you really didn't need to know any. It's practically a mesmerising one man show, using a violin, his remarkable whistling abilities and a loop pedal (which are always ruddy brilliant). Heretics, as with most of these songs, wasn't out in 2009 (or was it?), but not long before that anyhow. He has that style of playing and singing like he's making it up on the spot, or rather it sounds like he's just having a conversation with someone in the room.

6. Fruit Bats - Rainbow Sign

I first heard this on a Subpop promo CD, and it definitely came out a while ago, but it's been on my endless playlist all year. I hadn't realised til today though, that it's a side project of a Shins member. Who knew? (is that true? Makes sense, same label and it's fantastic!). I really like Silent Life as well, so I'll include that too, though I didn't hear it last year.

Fruits Bats - Silent Life


7. Les Paul & Mary Ford - How High The Moon

Now, this most definitely isn't new! 1955 maybe? I watched that documentary about Les Paul, and although it was a little like an extended Jack Daniels ad ("Bill? Whyyyy he's just Bill...and John Boy? He's just Jooohnnn boy!!"), and it didn't really go into the Les Paul guitar, but I did learn that he invented multi-track recording! He started recording several guitar parts, harmonies etc. and confused everyone! And he didn't tell anyone how he did it for aaaages.

The vocals on this are crazy, and a little unnerving. The bit around 1 minute 10 with all the harmonies by the same person, in particular, as it builds and builds and then...just carries on as it did before. Listen for yourself.

8. Ratatat - Black Heroes

Sounds like a 60/70s children's TV show, but a really really sad one. Really draws you in.

That's all till later. It's far too late.

First off

I think I need some new music.

I'm definitely at that stage where I need to find a new band, a new obsession. It's been so long since I've found a band where I like at least half of their songs (when does that ever happen?! I'm probably being too picky). For shame! There's definitely something to be said for having only one or two songs for a hundred different artists: it makes your music collection more like an extended mix tape. But I definitely want a comfort band at the moment. A band that, when shuffle fails, you can get instant joy from. Sometimes even a band that you can just ignore! An album in the background that isn't shit to listen to past track 4 or 5, that drifts by, songs blending into one. A self-contained time-passer that you catch yourself singing along to on your trip across the living room to the kitchen, making the 12th brew in an application form marathon.

I do have a few of these albums, which I'll list now, in no particular order;

1. The Shins - Oh, Inverted World

The title more or less sums up the feel of the album. You can't necessary remember the songs when it's not playing, but once you're in, you're in. Endless melodies on every track, and plenty of reverb that makes you feel like you're watching them play a gig through a peep hole in an underground bunker. The newest Vampire Weekend album is a bit like this. I really struggle, in an oddly positive way, to remember the songs on it. In a way, it keeps me listening to it!

A standard mid album track would be One by One All Day, not one I usually remember, then as soon as it's on all is good


02 One By One All Day.mp3


2. Weezer - Pinkerton

Now, this could be just me harking back to my teens and the good times associated with it, along with a hefty dose of "I prefer their earlier stuff". But that's bollocks, 'coz it's definitely the best Weezer album, and one of my favourites. Later albums have been either all over the place, but alright (Maladroit), or too smooth, generic and comprise of that whole "I'm a playaaaa" thing Rivers Cuomo has embraced (Every album since Make Believe). It's not fun, it's just shit.

The Green Album is an album where nearly every song sounds the same, but blend together fairly well. Variations on a melody. Pinkerton, on the other hand, is grimy, melodic, passionate, has the whole band shouting the choruses, and is sort of how I'd prefer Weezer to still be. But that was never gonna happen. Plus, tastes change.

Across the Sea is a glorious song, tinged with melancholy, full of weirdly personal yet memorable lyrics ("At 10 I shaved my head and tried to be a monk. I thought the older women would like me if I did") and is probably the best song on the album. But once again, It works so much better in the context of the album.


05 Across The Sea.mp3


3. Beck - Mutations



This is the sort of album I'd like Beck to get stuck into now. Recorded in about 2 weeks, it's not over-produced, and, while there are layers, it's stripped down to as near a minimum as Beck could feasibly go. It's folky, melodic, and mad at times (the intro to Diamond Bollocks in particular). Sea Change tried to replicate it, but he wasn't exactly in a joyful mood there, and he certainly sounded like he'd rather be living in a box murmuring to himself.

Now, the end tracks are definitely not as strong as the first 6 or so, but that's still pretty good going! The mood is consistent, and seeing as I don't tend to remember lyrics (I can, however, recite them phonetically, like singing in a foreign language), I can sing along happily! This may be helped by the nonsense Beck spouts, as it doesn't require me to pay attention to the overall story. If I'm missing something, Beck definitely doesn't seem to care.

Dead Melodies is a lovely song. All harpsichord and melody. It's gibberish to me, but what imagery I do pick up from the lyrics is wonderful.


07 Dead Melodies.mp3


4. Eels - Daisies of the Galaxy

In my Eels experience, I find it hard to distinguish between many of the songs, especially on such a large album as Blinking Lights and Revelations, which can put me off a bit (same chord progressions, melodies... I'm sure the stories are great! But I usually don't pick up on them because I'm backwards). However, when Mr E gets it right, there goes a summer. Daisies of the Galaxy is the album that put the Eels back on the right track after the understandably depressing Electro-Shock Blues, which is still great but didn't exactly belch sunshine with such ditties as Elizabeth on the Bathroom Floor...

Daisies of the Galaxy just flows and flows. It can be fun and frivolous (I Like Birds), slightly creepy and grungy (Flyswatter, which reminds me of the time when MTV2 wasn't just countdowns and Zane Lowe, and you could select your own hour on telly...think mine only ever came on at 3am) and then heartbreakingly sad (Selective Memory). I get the impression that any song about dead mothers is instant sadness (For Martha, I'm looking at you...and then running away to cry into my Weetabix).

Wooden Nickels is a mid album song that I reckon is a good reflection of the rest of the songs. It's short, sweet, and damning. I think Mr E judging you is a fate worse than death. The album in general doesn't outstay its welcome either. Well worth it.


12 Wooden Nickels.m4a


Right, that'll do for now.